Economic Deregulation in the United States: Lessons for America, Lessons for China

Over the past decade, the federal government of the United States has eliminated or substantially reduced the regulation ofprice and entryin domestic aviation,trucking,railroads, interstate buses, ocean shipping,long-distance communications, energy, andfinancialinstitutions. In addition, the federal government eliminated the general controls or guidelines on prices and wagesthroughout the economy. The focusofthis paperis onthe lessonsthatmight be learned from the U.S. experience with economic deregulation. For the United States, deregulation hascaused certain problemsbut, in general,the netbenefits havebeenhigherthanfirst expected. Althoughthe political and economic system in China is very different from that in the United States, theAmerican experience with economicderegulation may also provide some important general lessons for China.